Monday was
good. We didn't have anything specific to do, therefore not much got done.
Ældste Ravn called us for a blessing though. He was getting surgery on his
finger (nothing major or unexpected) the next day, so we went over there. I
have definitely given more blessings in Danish than in English at this point.
We also taught Steinar, which was pretty fun! He walked us over to a little
pizza place and ordered a giant pizza to share. Then we discussed God. He's a
Seventh Day Adventist, which apparently is pretty similar to our beliefs. He
committed to start reading in the Book of Mormon. But he wants a confirmation
to come from the Bible, so that's a little harder.
Tuesday was
pretty relaxed. We did a lot of stop by's, and finding. Not too much to say
there. We taught Yan though! It was pretty all over the place. We discussed the
Plan of Salvation, and then a little of everything. We talked a lot about his
parenting theories (seem pretty cool). But he has been reading in the Book of
Mormon and wants to come to church. He somehow got the crazy idea that if he
comes to church, we wouldn't come, so we need to fix that. But his children
really like us, so we're hoping that his whole family will come to
church!!
Wednesday
was another fun finding day! We met a Norweigan couple that had seen the Book of Mormon musical, so they tried
talking to us about it. It was pretty funny just because they were partially
laughing the whole time and then it was already a little hard to understand
what they were saying. We also attempted shortening Ældste Ellis' bike chain
because it keeps coming off and the tire won't stay pulled back. But then it's
too short, so we had to put it back together which is quite difficult with the
little chain links! Then we went out knocking. There were a couple of very
interestingly convinced people, but we were able to help many of them.
Thursday was
our first partial day in Aalborg. We went down for District Council, which was
about Area Books. It's definitely a good reminder, and I appreciate the
permission to spend time on organizing and cleaning it, because it sometimes
feels like a waste of time. There was a lot of casual talk about the next
transfer and Søster Matheson, because (Breaking News!!) she and Søster Sanford
(I haven't served around her) are going to Iceland!! They both go home in
December, so they're holding the place of two Elders that are going to replace
them once they leave. So that's exciting!! Ældste Ellis and I also did some
knocking that evening when we got home.
Friday was
really busy!! We did all of our studies and tried to do some Weekly Planning
before we had to leave for Hans Christians'. We had a good sprog study at his
house and gave a spiritual thought before we had to scurry out. Then we had a
bit of time to knock a little street before we taught Michael! We discussed the
Word of Wisdom and he completely agreed with it! He's a very smart guy and
knows that he shouldn't be smoking, so now he just needs to stop. He said he is
unsure about being baptized though, so we're still encouraging and supporting
him. He had some family coming on Sunday, but he said he'd ask them if they'd
go to church with him! After that lesson, we hurried home and to the train
station to head off to Aalborg! Once there, I started cleaning dishes, which
received a very negative response along the lines of "Elder Jepsen! Put
down the dishes and relax!" Yea, that happens pretty frequently... But I
still washed stuff while they made us dinner! Then Ældste Danielsen-Jensen and
I went knocking! We talked to a Baptist couple about Mormons Bog. It was
basically just testifying that we can actually receive an answer from God about
the book's truth and they don't need to take our word for it. After, we had a
large variety of fun discussions accompanied by a pencil box full of candy.
Saturday was
extremely fun! The Aalborg ward has soccer every Saturday, so we got to go!! I
haven't played soccer for (*counting fingers*) forever! It was super fun! It
had just rained a lot and was still sprinkling a bit, which was quite
refreshing. I definitely made Lindsay proud; I scored twice (and one was a
header). Then we walked home, picked some apples off a tree on the side of the
road, and got ready for the rest of the day. And it downpoured!! Ældste
Danielsen-Jensen and I walked out to knock and we were completely soaked the
entire time! It wasn't even rain, just sheets of mist! We had a lot of fun
though! We were able to help a guy set a tree back up after it's pot blew down
in the wind! That was funny! We also experimented with speaking Danish in
different voices. Then Ældste Ellis and I headed back up north so we could
teach Zibar! We taught the Word of Wisdom to him. He doesn't have a big problem
with anything, so it's just avoiding the little temptations.
Sunday came
as well, as usual. It was our Branch Conference! So when we showed up, our
Stake President shook our hands! And then Steinar had beaten us to church too!!
We had some great talks, got to sing in the choir, and had a good discussion
about scriptures and the Restoration in Guest Class!! It was super! He's still
reading Mormons Bog too! After church, we had a fællesspisning (potluck is
probably the best translation...). It was pretty fun! We also were given way
too much food to try and carry home in our bags. We had some time to go out and
stop by a couple people, one of which is named Rakel (rack-L). She's a young
lady we found right after she got home from Bible camp! And she'd read in the
Mormons Bog we gave her!! And she had her boyfriend over (not even living
together!) so we could come in and teach them both!! It was awesome! She had
some questions which led really well into the Restoration, and she said she'll
keep reading and she's happy to ask questions so she'll pray to God about it!!
It was awesome!! We also set another appointment for next week! (#miRakel)
I really
liked something President Kreiberg said, so I'm going to use it as a spiritual
thought! He said "Det er lige så svært for en missionær at komme hjem fra
missionen som det er for en forældre til at sende dem afsted."
(Transaltion: It is just as hard for a missionary to leave the mission field as
it is for a parent to send them off.) This really touched me, because I really
have come to love Denmark and the people here. But the cool thing is, that can
happen anywhere!! You can come to love the people in your neighborhood, ward,
work place, or school! All you need to do is choose to love and serve them! If
you want to love them, you will! And then your motivation to be better, kinder,
more helpful, etc. will increase! And you'll have more opportunities to share
the gospel because everyone can be blessed by more fully following the gospel!
So start by praying for the gift of charity, and then act as though you want
it, and you'll see the difference of love and service for those around
you!!
Thank you
all for the support! I hope you all have a great week!
--
Ældste
Bryant Jepsen
- We have
begun the war against the fruit fly infestation
Sorry we
don't have any other interesting pictures thus far...
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